Scaling Park Clean-up Movement across country
In June 2020, Maya Gerdes (7) wished for one thing – to see her favorite park in Zagreb cleaned of cigarette butts. She decided to do something about it, so she invited her peers, and they cleaned up the park at Trg Petra Svačića, which became a Kickoff of the #MaNaBuMovement.
Television network Nova TV came to film this Movement, and the footage was seen more than 150.000 times solely on Facebook.
Although it seemed rather peculiar, according to many comments at that point, to see children cleaning, her honest efforts incentivized so many amazing families and children who joined our MaNaBu Movements. Over 20 clean-up activities followed the Kickoff throughout 2021 to clean up parks, gardens, schoolyards, beaches, and rivers despite the pandemic. 🚀
In 2022, one can see an initiative with children doing clean-ups in Croatian media almost daily; it has become normal, and more children are willing to join. It is also great to see that the town’s new leadership is picking up the model and prioritizing the trash problem that the city of Zagreb has had for years.
We should never underestimate what a single honest wish or a child’s belief can do. It can move mountains. ✨🌍
THANK YOU, Maya. 🌈